In many work environments collaboration is a key element. Often, however, collaborators are not all physically located in the same place at the same time. Many times telephone or video conference calls are held between or among multiple people in multiple places. In addition, the information shared may sometimes take the form of text, drawings, or other content spontaneously created during the meeting on, for instance, a whiteboard. For example, one person may take notes on a whiteboard type surface based on the conversation among the participants. If on a conference call, these notes may only be visible to those in the room where the whiteboard is located. For video conferences, the notes may not be visible unless the video camera is trained on the whiteboard itself rather than the participants as is customary. Even if most of the participants can see the whiteboard there is still the issue of memorializing the content generated during the conference. Once the conference is over and the room is vacated, the whiteboard may be erased by the next group to use the room.
There are specialized whiteboards that can be directly coupled with computer systems. Some specialized whiteboards may be able to track and transcribe writing and images made to the whiteboard via touch sensitive technologies and complex computer circuitry and programming. Such whiteboards are extremely costly as compared to ordinary whiteboards having no associated electronics.
What is needed is an inexpensive technique to capture, disseminate, and archive content such as text and images made to a whiteboard during a conference or collaborative type setting that spans multiple locations.